Interchange Recharged

After a long downturn, cleantech venture capital investments are back on the upswing.According to year-end numbers from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, venture and private equity investments into the sector grew 127 percent in 2018 over the previous year, amounting to $9.2 billion. That is the highest total since 2010.Years after venture capital plummeted in 2012 — when investors ran from clean technologies after getting burned by bad bets — we’re seeing a new wave of activity. Oil majors, billionaires and a wide range of corporations are getting in on the action. And there’s a wide range of new funds focusing on both software- and hardware-specific startups.So, is this spurt of activity different from the last one? For one, fewer people are using the term "cleantech."This week, we're joined by Abe Yokell, managing partner at Congruent Ventures. He and our co-host Shayle Kann, a senior VP of research and strategy at Energy Impact Partners, will talk about the changing landscape for venture capital. In this episode, we'll address:What went wrong for VCs in the first cleantech boom? What should we have learned from that wave? Should we still call it "cleantech"? Are we in a new cleantech VC renaissance? What's the current state of supply/demand for capital for a cleantech startup? How much does it vary by stage?What to make of a few new classes of major entrants: utilities, oil majors, incubators/accelerators, and long-horizon investors.How should the risk of a looming recession impact this market?Where to funds get their capital, and what is the appetite for LPs to deploy capital into the space?Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Desperation has taken hold in climate policy. People are so anxious to do something meaningful, allies are fighting against each other over the solutions. Is the right approach a Green New Deal to re-engineer the energy and labor markets with renewable energy? Or is it better to just price carbon in order to allow all kinds of technologies and carbon mitigation efforts to flourish?We need both, says Hal Harvey, the CEO of Energy Innovation. In this episode, we’ll get beyond the tribalism and look at the suite of policies that will decarbonize the economy quickly and cost-effectively.We’re going to talk about Hal’s new book, “Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy.”Topics we’ll cover on the podcast:The Green New Deal and the reliance on renewables as a climate strategy. How far does the wind-solar-water plan get us? The debate about the effectiveness and elegance of a carbon tax. Is it really the end-all solution?The most under-appreciated climate policy.The role of nuclear and seasonal storage.Hal’s reaction to our choices for the deep decarbonization draft picks.Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the trend toward electrification speeds up, what type of company will dominate the market?We're hosting a cage match to find out.On this week's episode of The Interchange, we pit utilities, oil & gas majors, mobility providers and consumer tech companies against one another. We're throwing them inside a voice-activated, electrified cage to see who will emerge as the energy company of the future.Throughout this episode, we are trying to answer a straightforward-yet-complicated question: who is best positioned to win the long-term power game?To set up the match, we’re going to profile each competitor and look at the evidence for their competitive edge.Then, we’ll ring the bell. We’ll address the following: How might each competitor win? What areas will they be strongest in? What are their weaknesses? What will their dominance look like?We’ll finish with some post-match color commentary and make our picks for the winner.Don't forget to give The Interchange a rating and creative review on Apple podcasts for your chance to win a yearly subscription to GTM Squared!Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After a period of moderation, heat trapping gases are going up in the U.S. and around the world. In 2018, global emissions rose by 2.7 percent. And U.S. emissions rose by 3.4 percent, according to an early tally from the Rhodium Group.This week, we're going to put some meaning to those emissions numbers. We are joined by Brad Plumer, an energy and environment reporter at the New York Times, who will help us dig into each sector.We will answer the following questions:Why aren't wind and solar making up for coal closures?Which sectors are becoming the worst emitters?Will the "Trump bump" accelerate the emissions trend in the medium term?If we were king/dictator/wizard for a day, what sector would we address first?Don't forget to give The Interchange a rating and creative review on Apple podcasts for your chance to win a yearly subscription to GTM Squared!Read along with us:Rhodium Group: Preliminary US Emissions Estimates for 2018NYT: U.S. Carbon Emissions Surged in 2018 Even as Coal Plants ClosedNYT: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accelerate Like a ‘Speeding Freight Train’ in 2018Follow us on Twitter: @InterchangeShowSupport for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we present a special episode brought to you by the Energy News Network.We profile State Senator Bob Steinburg, a local North Carolina politician who spent a lot of time in his republican primary campaign talking about the benefits of renewable energy. We also talk with Elizabeth Outzs, a journalist at the Energy News Network, who covered Steinburg’s campaign.“What we’re seeing in the way politicians are behaving and the way that people are responding to these polls is that clean energy is increasingly like mom and apple pie,” says Ouzts.Read Elizabeth’s story about the campaign here. For plenty more in-depth coverage on the clean energy transition in the Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, and West, head on over to energynews.us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Forget everything you think you know about solar.A growing body of research and real-world experience shows that solar can be a flexible, dispatchable resource. And it can potentially rival gas plants in providing grid regulation services — without the use of batteries.We’ve had the technology to allow solar and wind to provide grid services for years. So how do we open up markets to unleash their full potential?In this episode, we’ll look at some new modeling from First Solar, E3 and Tampa Electric Company that outlines how to use utility-scale solar power plants for spinning reserves, load following, voltage support, and frequency response. (Read Colin Meehan's tweet storm about the report, mentioned on the show.)See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we’ve got our year-end recap — with an Interchange twist. We’re going to cover the following topics:The story that didn’t warrant the attention it got. The story that should have gotten more attention than it did.The energy tech/sector/personality that had the biggest breakthrough of the yearThe energy tech/sector/personality that had the biggest setback of the yearA notable trend that you wish you had predicted.The "most 2018" story of the year. In other words, a story that embodies the zeitgeist.Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here using the promo code, PODCAST.This podcast is sponsored by Sungrow. Sungrow is the leading pure-play solar inverter supplier with a range of solutions for both solar and storage applications. Find out more about how Sungrow is investing in U.S. solar.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we've got a live episode recorded at GTM's storage summit. We'll talk about the hottest energy storage stories of 2018, Oscars style.Julian Spector and Stephen Lacey debate nominees and award recipients in the following categories:Best original policy and regulatory developmentBest application for storage in a hybrid or supporting roleBest foreign storage marketBest new artistBest financial contributionBest storage project in a market leading rolePlus, we remember the fallen storage companies of 2018.If you didn't make it to the summit, GTM Squared members can watch every single panel here.The Interchange is brought to you by Sungrow. Sungrow is the leading pure-play solar inverter supplier with a range of solutions for both solar and storage applications. With more than 2 gigawatts of inverters shipped to the Americas, find out how Sungrow is investing in U.S. solar. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, we’re road tripping across Europe. In Poland’s coal country, diplomats are breathing in smog-filled air, preparing to strengthen a global climate deal.In France, angry protestors are rioting in the streets over a gas tax as part of the president’s climate policy.And in the U.K., Britons may leave the European Union without a deal in place, threatening the health of energy markets and the economics of renewable power plants.So as we close out the year, what better time to take a tour of the top European stories?During our tour, maybe we’ll scope out a few subsidy-free offshore wind farms and battery manufacturing plants along the way.We're joined this week by Jason Deign, GTM’s prolific contributing writer, who reports on a range of international energy topics for us. He’s with us from Barcelona, Spain.Read Jason's reporting for GTM here.If you want to go deeper, read Jason's deep reporting for GTM Squared on materials supply constraints caused by the battery boom.Want access to our deep editorial analysis? If you sign up for GTM Squared using the promo code PODCAST, you'll get $50 off. Help support our reporting and treat your mind!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re back with another edition of “consensus” this week. GTM Co-Founder Scott Clavenna joins us to explain the arcane and hyped up world of blockchain to our listeners in the energy business.We promised not to discuss blockchain on The Interchange until we saw some newsworthy developments — now we have too much to sift through. So we’re going to survey the most important stories of the last year.We’ll start with a quick rundown of Amazon’s plan to develop blockchain-as-a-service: does this signal anything special about the market?Then we’ll address a basic question: where are we in the hype cycle? Are people moderating their expectations?Other stories we’re tracking:How did WePower tokenize Estonia’s grid data?Why did Grid+ face so many regulatory hurdles in Texas’ electricity market?The year of standardization: how are the players rallying around data and privacy standards?The cryptocurrency price drop: how does it impact investor enthusiasm in these new energy applications?We’re giving listeners major discounts this fall. Use the promo code PODCAST to get a $50 discount for a GTM Squared membership and 20% off our final GTM conferences of the season.Get your GTM conference discount here. Get your GTM Squared discounted membership here.Support for this podcast comes from Wunder Capital. Wunder Capital is the leading commercial solar financing company in the United States. Click here to find out how Wunder Capital can help you finance your next commercial solar project.We're also supported by Shoals Technologies Group, the gold standard for solar and storage balance-of-systems solutions. Learn more about how Shoals can make your project operate at the highest level.Subscribe to The Interchange podcast via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you find your audio content. Or integrate our RSS feed into the app of your choice.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.